Now Is Not The Time To Call Jewish Intellectuals Sexy

Image by Misha Friedman/Getty Images
Dear Editor,
Regarding your “Sexiest Jewish Intellectual” list: it is beyond an appalling and tone deaf use of column inches to have this list. We are in the throes of a near constant stream of conversations about sexual harassment and assault and calling intellectualism sexy is not cute and is a mystifying objectification of women and men who are engaged in important work.
These lists are problematic enough without throwing in a completely superficial and meaningless category. This is how you mark 120 years?
Rabbi Yael Ridberg
La Jolla, CA
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
